In few days the year 2014 is coming to an end, a year was full of fear, despair and darkness, and still no security, no stability and no peace.

In the Middle East and in other areas of the world, we see a brother against his brother, a nation against another nation and people are killing each other in the name of their religions.

And in Palestine, the political situation is getting worse, and we don’t know until when we have to live under occupation and when we can get out of this very dark tunnel.

The prophet Isaiah said in chapter 9 and verse 2: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

In this very dark time and all the sufferings we are going through, Isaiah gave the prophecy about the Messiah, the coming King and the light of the world. HEis the only one that will wipe every tear from our eyes and mourning and crying and pain and Death will be no more.

With this message of comfort and hope, we continue our struggle for justice, knowing that we will never be alone.

I wish you a blessed Christmas and a wonderful new year 2015. Please remember with Faith, Love and Hope we will make the impossible possible.
Blessings and Salaam from Bethlehem
Daoud Nassar and family

Dear Sisters and Brothers,
In few days the year 2014 is coming to an end, a year was full of fear, despair and darkness, and still no security, no stability and no peace.

In the Middle East and in other areas of the world, we see a brother against his brother, a nation against another nation and people are killing each other in the name of their religions. And in Palestine, the political situation is getting worse, and we don’t know until when we have to live under occupation and when we can see the end of this very dark tunnel.
The prophet Isaiah said in chapter 9 and verse 2: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

In this very dark time and all the sufferings we are going through, Isaiah gave the prophecy about the Messiah, the coming King and the light of the world. HE Is the only one who will wipe every tear from our eyes and mourning and crying and pain and Death will be no more.

With this message of comfort and hope, we continue our struggle for justice, knowing that we will never be alone.

I wish you a blessed Christmas and a wonderful new year 2015. Please remember with Faith, Love and Hope we will make the impossible possible.

Dear Sisters and Brothers,
In few days the year 2014 is coming to an end, a year was full of fear, despair and darkness, and still no security, no stability and no peace.

In the Middle East and in other areas of the world, we see a brother against his brother, a nation against another nation and people are killing each other in the name of their religions. And in Palestine, the political situation is getting worse, and we don’t know until when we have to live under occupation and when we can see the end of this very dark tunnel.
The prophet Isaiah said in chapter 9 and verse 2: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

In this very dark time and all the sufferings we are going through, Isaiah gave the prophecy about the Messiah, the coming King and the light of the world. HE Is the only one who will wipe every tear from our eyes and mourning and crying and pain and Death will be no more.

With this message of comfort and hope, we continue our struggle for justice, knowing that we will never be alone.

I wish you a blessed Christmas and a wonderful new year 2015. Please remember with Faith, Love and Hope we will make the impossible possible.

Two days ago Israel’s Military Authorities in the West Bank announced the takeover of 988 acres (3,799 dunams) belonging to five Palestinian villages between what is called the Etzion settlement bloc to the south of Jerusalem. The move clears the way for construction of a new settlement named Gvaot, which is on the opposite Hill of the Tent of Nations farm.
This move doesn’t take land from our farm, but it will further the isolation of the farm including the village of Nahalin and make movement even more difficult for the Palestinians living in five villages to the west of Bethlehem.
We are still waiting for the response from the military authorities to the Israeli Supreme Court on the appeal brought by our lawyers after the destruction of our fruit trees on the May 19, 2014. The military representative has to respond to the highest court by September 15, 2014.

In 2007, the Supreme Court recognized our legal claim to the land and said that the family can re-register the land in their name and referred it back to the Military Court with the recommendation that the military court settle the matter to re-register the land. Since 2007, however, the military has delayed such action.

There is no current news from the military court about the decisions concerning the tree loss but we will keep you posted, if we hear anything from the military court.

On the ground, we already started with rebuilding the terraces again and preparing the land for new trees. We will start with planting from December 2014 until end of March 2015. Our plan is to plant 3000-5000 different trees depending on how much rain we get.

Thank you so much for keeping us in your prayers. We will never give up hope and we still believe that one day we will see the sun of justice rising again.

It has been a while since you received our last update about the Tent of Nations and our struggle to keep the farm from the danger of confiscation. We would like to share with you the latest news from the Tent of Nations, the situation on the ground, our concerns, but also our hope and how the project is moving forward. We thank you all for your prayers, support and solidarity.

Political Situation

The political situation is getting more difficult; settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are on a daily expansion. Every day more Land is being confiscated for new settlements, or expanding the existing ones. Land is being taken for security purposes, for settler’s roads and, of course, for the wall. It is still a long way for us through this very dark tunnel but this tunnel has for sure an end.

Land Process

In December 2012, the high court rejected our appeal for a building permit for the 13 demolishing orders for our structures. They said that we have to apply again according to the new rules. Before applying the land must be surveyed again. Our Lawyer did the paper work and we started a new process in the Israeli courts to protect our structures. It is a frustrated situation for us but we still believe in justice and one day justice will prevail.
With your prayers and support we are able to keep this hope alive and are able also to overcome our obstacles. We will keep you updated regarding any urgent development and if needed, we will ask you to take actions. Please be prepared for that.

Agricultural Development

During the winter months, we managed to collect water in our cisterns to be used in the dry summer. We managed also to plant 1253 olive and other trees. With this investment in agriculture, our aim is to make the farm self-sufficient. Now there are thousands of trees growing on the farm. We are continuing cultivating land towards the valley, planting it with more trees and making it green.
In the summer months, we are all busy in watering the hundreds of trees that were planted in the winter months. This is a big challenge for us, we have no access to running water but we are watering the trees from the rain water collected in our cisterns during the rainy season. Still not enough but we are trying to manage.
Special thanks for all people who sponsored trees, for all who planted those trees. Thank you so much for this support and solidarity.

We are always trying to develop a better infrastructure for our animals. Our goal is to develop an animal farm with better infrastructure to increase the productivity and also to use it for education during the visits of children and young people to the Tent of Nations.

Infrastructure

As mentioned above, we must look ahead and prepare for the worst while hoping for the best. Our vision is to become self-sufficient as soon as possible, especially regarding energy, water and grey water. We have recently made some important new steps towards achieving this vision.

Energy
With the solar power system that produces 4.5 KW of electricity, we managed to solve many problems. The plan for this year is to add more panels and two small wind turbines in order to make the Tent of Nations totally independent in term of energy.

Water
In our region, water is a big concern and always limited. As you know, we are not allowed to have access to running water, but we are trying to solve this problem with collecting rain water. We are trying year by year to increase our rain water collection capacity in order to become self-sufficient in terms of water and to be able to develop agriculture and also to run our activities and programs on the farm.
We already installed a filtration system to filter the rain water and we are using it now also for drinking.

Recycling Grey and Sewage water:
We built 4 new showers for our guests and volunteers. The shower water is being collected and reused again for watering the new planted trees.
We already started to recycle the sewage water. We are hoping by this summer to use the recycled water for irrigation. Special thanks for all who helped in supporting this project financially.

We are hoping by the end of this year to develop a way to get a bio Gas from the human and animal manure. This Gas will be used for cooking and will save us from buying an expensive cooking gaz.

Bent Al Reef Women’s Project

The Bent Al Reef Women’s Week took place from the 11th until the 16th of March. This year the theme was “recycling.” We wanted by that to raise more awareness about environmental issues as well as to encourage those women to play a positive role towards their country and the environment. If you are interested in supporting this women project, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The English, computer and agricultural training as well as some art workshops will continue until the beginning of June and we will start again beginning of September.

Guest Groups and Volunteers

Right now there are currently 3 long-term volunteers from Germany staying at the Tent of Nations. More others are for short period of time between one week and 3 months are coming in the next days. It is great to see the demand for volunteering at the Tent of Nations is increasing. Volunteers can apply through our website by filling out a form. The work the volunteers are doing and their presence at the Tent of Nations are highly appreciated. Special thanks for all volunteers for their efforts and their support for the project.
Since January to April 2013 we had 1592 visitors who came to visit the Tent of Nations from different countries. It is wonderful to see how the idea of Tent of Nations by refusing to be an enemy is reaching out to many people.

Finally, we would like to thank you for all your prayers, for your continuous support and for your solidarity.

Children Summer Camp

It will be held for children from the Bethlehem region to take part in arts, music, dance, theatre, sport and games.

This will also be a chance for children to experience camping for the first time and learn about their rural heritage in a peaceful location.

The projects will be educational, will promote tolerance and peace, challenge prejudice, but most importantly, it will be a chance for the children to have a break from the politics that overwhelm their childhood.

The 2012 Women’s Week is taking place from the 26th – 31st of March at the Bent Al-Reef Womens Project. International speakers & trainers from 5 different countries will join in delivering workshops and sessions.

The program of activities is as follows:

Monday 26th

9:00-9:30 – Welcome
I Am from an Olive Tree… An Inspiring Poem written by Iman, women’s week 2009
An overview about this Week’s Activities… Stress is a common problem that affects almost all of us at some point in our lives. Learning to identify when you are under stress, what is stressing you, and different ways of coping with stress can greatly improve both your mental and physical well being.

10:00-11:00 What is Stress?
Stress is the body’s reaction to a physical or emotional situation that causes imbalance in a person’s life.
We can learn how to recognize both, the physical and the emotional signs of stress and anxiety. Once we learn to recognize stress, then we will be much better able to use coping strategies to relieve our stress and ease our tension.

11:00-12:30 Sources of Stress in our lives – Personal Experience
Feeling like there are too many pressures and demands on you? Losing sleep worrying about work, family, friends, relationships, illness and schoolwork? Eating on the run because your schedule is just too busy? You’re not alone. Everyone experiences stress at times adults, teens, and even kids. But there are ways to minimize stress and manage the stress that’s unavoidable.

Tuesday 27th

9:00-9:30 Where I Am from …
An Inspiring Poem written by Maitha’ – women’s week 2009

9:30-10:30 Stressful Feelings – Using Emotions for Success
Becoming aware of our emotions and learning to manage them helps us be successful in our everyday lives and relationships. Emotions allow us to understand and make sense of the people and experiences in our lives and how we react to them (or want to react to them).

11:00-12:30 Relaxation Exercises “Breathing… Our Main Strategy to Avoid Stress‘‘
Experience your breath… What kind of different ways are there to breath? Which technique of breathing does do me well? How can I transform breathing exercises in daily life?

Wednesday 28th

9:00-9:30 My life has become stressful
A stressful story…

9:30-10:30 Sharing Experiences and Thoughts
Compare the stressful factors of Europe with the stressful factors in Palestine. How to deal with stress and find the way to cope with it.
Our Dreams
Our Fears
Our Frustrations

11:00-12:30 Meditation and Breathing – YOGA for Stress Relief
What is Meditation? What will it do good for me? How can I do meditation in my daily life?

Thursday 29th

9:00-9:30 I Am from a Small Home …
An Inspiring Poem written by Han’a, women’s week 2009

9:30-10:30 Mind Guide to Stress Managing – Keep Stress Under Control
What can you do to deal with stress overload or, better yet, to avoid it in the first place? The most helpful method of dealing with stress is learning how to manage the stress that comes along with any new challenge, good or bad. Stress-management skills work best when they’re used regularly, not just when the pressure’s on. Knowing how to “de-stress” and doing it when things are relatively calm can help you get through challenging circumstances that may arise.

11:00-12:30 Art Workshops for Stress Release – Flour – Balloon Stress Ball & Painting on Stones
Art therapy is a wonderful way of releasing stored up stress and anger. Not only can you tap into and release past hurts but you can also let go of current stressful situations.

]]>http://www.tentofnations.org/womens-week-2012/feed/0Tent of Nations received 3 orders from the Israeli authorities to stop working and cultivating landhttp://www.tentofnations.org/orders-to-stop-cultivating-land/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=orders-to-stop-cultivating-land
http://www.tentofnations.org/orders-to-stop-cultivating-land/#commentsTue, 14 Feb 2012 18:42:18 +0000adminhttp://www.tentofnations.org/?p=395

Dear Friends,

Today, the 14th of February at 1.30 PM and as we were working on our land, specifically in the tree of life orchard, we found on three different places , papers with maps signed by the civil administration of Judea and Samaria which is the Israeli military government.

The papers say that we have to stop working on the land specified on the map, because they declared it as a state land. According to them, this land doesn’t belong to us but it is a state land and we are cultivating it. The papers also say that if we want to challenge this order, we can appeal against it within 45 days in front of the military representative office.

It is ridiculous to receive something like that after 21 years of legal battle defending our land and the right to it in front of Israeli courts.

We sent those papers to our attorney in Jerusalem and he is going to appeal against it within the next days.

This is just to inform you about what happened today, please be aware that the situation might get worse, please be prepared in case actions are needed. In the meanwhile, our attorney will appeal against it and we will see what kind of reaction we receive.

We will keep you updated and will inform you about our next steps and how you can help.

Thank you so much for your support and solidarity. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.